Shoe last construction



Aug. 18, 1959 w. A. OTTO SHOE LAST CONSTRUCTION- Filed Jan. 29, 1957 fww 2,899,696 Patented Aug. 18, 1959 United States Patent Oflice 2,899,696 SHOE LAST CONSTRUCTION Willi Albert Otto, Alfeld (Leine), Germany Application January 29, 1957, Serial No; 636,930 Claims priority, application Germany September '15, 1956 4 Claims. (31. 12-436 v The present invention relates to a bipartite shoe last construction and more particularly toa shoe last consisting of two hingedly interconnected parts wherein the last becomes considerably shortened when the relative positions of the two parts are altered to bring the last to a broken or retracted condition for. the removal of a shoe from the last.

The last of the present invention comprises a heel portion or heel part and a toe portion or'toe part which are interconnected with each other by a rigid plate. When the last is in its extended or working condition, the two parts engage each other along an oblique plane. When the last is in its retracted or work removing condition, the two parts are brought closer together so that the last is elfectively simultaneously bent and shortened for facilitating removal of the work. The interconnecting plate is fixedly connected to one part of the last and is provided with guide slots in which guide pins are slidably received, the guide pins being fixed to the otherpart of the last. The longitudinal axes of the guide slots are angularly inclined withrespect to Teach otherxs'd-that, if appropriately extended, they would intersect at an oblique angle. The guide slots are so arranged that when the last is bent to bring it to its broken or retracted condition, the movable part undergoes a combined angular and linear displacement whereby the last becomes shortened with respect to the work-piece, thereby greatly facilitating removal of the finished work. Preferably, one of the slots in the interconnecting plate is of arcuate configuration, although it may be made straight. The arcuate or central slot is located nearer to the center of the last and may advantageously be provided with detent means for locking the last in its extended or working condition.

Various additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification together with the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a last in accordance with the invention, partly broken away to illustrate details of construction, the last being shown in its extended or working condition.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, except that the last is shown in its retracted or broken condition for the removal or mounting of a workpiece.

In both Figures 1 and 2, the relative positions of the parts in the other condition of the last have been indicated in dot-and-dash lines.

As shown in the drawing, the last comprises a heel part F and a toe part V. When the heel and toe parts F and V are in the extended position shown in Fig. 1, they engage each other along an inclined plane at 1 which is oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis of the last, the two parts being provided with cooperating flat surfaces which abut each other as shown. The toe portion V of the last is provided with a flat plane surface 1' which is displaced into the plane 1, when the last is brought into its retracted position as shown in Fig. 2 and described in greater detail below. The flat surfaces at 1 and 1 of the toe part V make an obtuse dihedral angle with each other.

The last comprises an interconnecting plate 2, preferably formed of metal; one end of which is mortised into the heel part F of the last and fixedly secured therein by a transverse pin 3. The interconnecting plate 2 has a central guide slot 4 and an outer guide slot 5 formed therein in which guide pins 6 and 7, respectively, are slidably received. It will be observed that the longitudinal axis of the outer guide slot 5, if extended, would intersect the longitudinal axis of the central guide slot 4 atan oblique angle, the point of intersection being located intermediate the ends of the central guide slot 4 and in close proximity to the end portion of the slot 4 which is occupied by the guide pin 6 with the last in its extended condition as shown in Fig. 1. The guide pins 6 and 7 are fixedly secured and mounted in the toe part V of the last. Advantageously, the central guide slot 4 is preferably arcuate or somewhat curved, being substantially rectilinear, as shown, to cause the proper last shortening movement of the toe part V relative to the heel part F during the course of movement of the toe part V from the extended or working position shown in Fig. 1 to the retracted or broken position shown in Fig. 2. If the central guide slot 4 is curved, the direction of curvature will be such as to facilitate movement of parts V and F in the direction of the arrows X and X -Hence, the slot 4 will be curved to be concave upwardly and toward the right as shown in the drawing. 1

A .gapped annular detent spring 8 is received in a circular opening 9 formed in the interconnecting plate 2. The opening 9 communicates laterally with the central guide slot 4'soth'at'the, spring 8 protrudes somewhat into the slot 4 for resilient" yielding engagement with the guide pin 6. With the last in its extended condition as shown in Fig. 1, the spring 8 acts as a locking detent which yieldingly secures the last in its extended or working condition.

With the last in its extended condition, there is a wedge shaped space 10 between the lower portions of the heel and toe parts F and V, respectively, as shown in Fig. 1. When the last is in its retracted condition as shown in Fig. 2, the space 10 is taken up by movement of the toe part V. The right hand portion of the interconnecting plate 2 is received in a wide-mouthed closed slot 11 formed in the toe part V.

In operation, the last is broken by applying manual pressure in the extended direction of the arrow X to bring it from its extended condition shown in Fig. 1 into is retracted condition as shown in Fig. 2. In so doing, the guide pin 7 moves downwardly and toward the left along slot 5 while the guide pin 6 moves past the detent spring 8 and upwardly toward the left along the slot 4, the final positions of the parts being as shown in Fig. 2. Although the heel part F has been assumed to remain stationary, the relative movement of the two parts is equivalent to that illustrated in Fig. 1 wherein the upper left hand corner of the heel part at point A has a path of travel indicated by a dot-and-dash line to a point B. This path of travel from point A to point B is contrasted in the drawing with the corresponding path of travel in a conventional last construction wherein there would be a single pivot pin located in the position of the pin 7. This would provide pivotal movement about a radius R along a circular arc with a terminal position corresponding to the point C instead of the point B. The shortening of the last which is provided by the slot and guide pin arrangement of the invention as constrasted with known forms of last construction is indicated by the distance between the points B and C in Fig. 1.

To restore the last to its extended condition, upward pressure is exerted on the toe portion V of the last in the direction of the arrow X Again the guide pin 6 moves past the detent spring 8 so that the last islocked in its extended condition as shown in- Fig. 1.

While I have shown what I believe to be the best embodiment of my invention, it will be appreciated that many modifications may be made inthe example which has been illustratively disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims:

What is claimed is:

l. A bipartite last construction comprising heel and toe parts, an interconnecting plate fixedly connected to one of said parts and movably' received in the other part, said plate having two distinct elongated substantially rectilinear guide slots formed in the portion thereof which is movably received in said other part, two guide pins carried by said other part and each slidably received in one of said guide slots, said guide slots being oriented to one another by an oblique angle to provide exclusively in coaction with the guide pins a combined angular and pivotal movement for said parts with respect to each other between a working position wherein said last is extended and a work removing position wherein said last is both broken and shortened and detent means extending into one of said slots for yielding engagement with the guide pin therein to lock said parts against relative movement.

2. A last construction according to claim 1, wherein said interconnecting plate has a circular recess formed therein which communicates with said last-named one of said slots, said yielding detent means being a gapped annular spring disposed in said recess and protruding into said last-named one of said slots.

3. A last construction comprising heel and toe parts, an elongated connecting plate having one portion fixedly connected to one of said parts and another portion rnovably received in the other of said parts, said other portion of said plate having first and second elongated substantially rectilinear guide slots formed therein, said first slot being nearer to the center of said last than said second slot, the longitudinal axis of said second slot, if extended, intersecting the longitudinal axis of said first slot at an oblique angle with the point of intersection located intermediate the ends of saidfirst slot, first and second guide pins fixedly mounted in said other part of said last, said first and second guide pins beingslidably received in said first and second slots, respectively, for longitudinal movement therein, said pins and slots exclusively eifecting and permitting selective movement of one of said parts relative to the. other to bring said last into an extended condition or into a broken condition at will, said last being shortened in said broken condition, said one part having a first fiat surface formed thereon which is oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis of said last, said other part having, second, and third flat surfaces formed thereon opposite to. the said'first flat surface whichv make an oblique dihedral angle with each other, said first flat surface abutting said second flat surface with said last in said extended condition and abutting said third fiat surface with said last in said broken condition and detent means extending into said first slot for yielding engagement with said first pin to lock said parts against relative movement.

4. A last construction according to claim 3,. in which said plate has a circular aperture formed therein which communicates with said first slot, said detent means being an annular spring member disposed, in said aperture and protruding, into said first slot for engagement, with said first pin.

ReferencestCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESv PATENTS- 928,909 Ellis July 20, 1909 929,849: Hamblin Aug. 3', 1909 1,094,988 Godfrey Apr. 28, 1914 

